The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1887-06-16
Ollapodrida of Mexican Matters.

| Ollapodrida of Mexican Matters.
NOT A BAD FIELD FOR TEMPERANCE CRUsAD-
Frs. PULQUE, TIE BEVERAGE INVENTED
by OLD PAPANTZIN, A. D. $50, NOW USED AT
| THE RATE OF $4,000 GALLONS PER DIEM AT
| TIE CAPITAL CITY ALONE. '.EEGGAR'S DAY"
IN MENICO. TRICKS OF PROFESSIONAL MEN
DICANTS.
Correspondence of the journal.
CITY OF MEXICo, May 9th, 1887. Every
body has heard of pulque, the ''natonal bever-
age in this portion of the world-thc fernent-
ed milk of that species of cacti known to north
erners rs the century plant. or aloe, (1gare
Americaaa), here called maguey. Although
there are more than thirty thousand licensed
pulquc-shops in the City Of Mexico Alone
besides innumcrablc booths, stalls and bar
rooms, where that and other beverages are
dspcnscd-and although the popular drink
costs but Il penny "schooner' or two cents
per quart the shops arc all profitable. Very
little pulquc is sold at wholesale, as most MeNi-
cans who make Il business of cultvating mag
ney maintain their own shops for retailing it.
! A certain well known aristocrat of this city,
who rides in his carriage and is reckoned
among the magnates of the land, has five
| puiyuerids, from which he is said to derive
the neat little income of S25,OOO per annum.
According to official statistics, Il little more
than $4,000 gallons of pulque are sold every
day in the Mexican capital, and nearly double
| that amount on Sundays and Saints days.
| Three special trains, laden with nothing but
! puquc. run daily into the City of Mexico from
| the nearby plains of Apam and Otumba, where
much masuey is cultivated From this industry
alone the Federal government ,icrives revenue
of thousand dollars per diem in the way of
| duties. and the railroads an equal amount for
transportation of the same.
W hat held is this for the Temperance
Crusader. But the crusader would do better
to mind his own affairs Or to turn his attention
| elsewhere. for pulque is moi only one of the
most healthful and harmless of beverages, but
Is one of the few blessings which the poor of
| Mexico enjoy-and Heaven knows their COM
forts are few enough. Being not at all hcady
inits effects. the worst abuse of the ''hlcS>inS'
LEAVES No HEAD ACHE BEHIND,
but serves only to intensity the galiantry of the
| guZzler, making him ling and dance till the
| sleepy stage comes on. showing his white teeth
in continued laughter and hauling off his ragged
sombrero to passing ladies', with the most re-
| sper:ful salaanS. Two cents worth Of pulIuc
Will render the poorest peasant happier than Il
| king. while five cents worth will secure him
| the honor of being escorted bv men much
higher in the social scale than himself. (the
| policc), TO the nearest corceI. and an engage
| mcnt to work for the government Il fortnight
or SO, to begin when he awakcs next day, with
| beans and tortillas provided. As may be i'll
| fcrre,l, the Government has no lack of labor
ers on these easy terms. and finds no difficulty
| in thus keeping the streets well paved and
similar public duties performed.
While in moist climates one may imbibc
| siderable quantities Of the usual intoXicants
| with comparative impunity. in these higher
| a ~ iS
| surprisingly harmful. And right here permit
| me to add that some unfortunate Americans
who have fallen into disgrace because of un-
| due conviviaty at the Mexican Capital. really
| deserve commi>eration rather than the con-
1umcly that has been hcapcd upon them. In
most eases they We're the victims of ignorance
| on their own part, or of sly practical jokes
| perpctratcd by the McXieanS. who-howevcr
| polite they may appcar-arc al heart jealous of
| all Americans and delighted to put them at Il
disadvantage. The same beverage whic! gentle
men may use socially in the North with no i'll
effects, if partaken here in equal measure. first
cNhilarates the mhiber beyon,lall account and
| then leaves him for days in state of utter
stupidity. Most foreigners learn this only by
sad experience. and the "gildcd youth of the
Capital find great pleasure in
| INITIATING \ FRESH SUBJECT,
especially if he comes in the interests of his
| government.
OF course my own opportunities for obscrl-
| ing this phase of Mexican life are somewhat
limited; but am told by an American Journal
| i>t. (Who certainly ought to know. that com
| mon whskeys and hrandics. which are never
safe beverages in warm countries, are here
simply suicidal The Spainards continc them
| selves to co@nac and sour wines, while MeNi-
| cans of the better class always have claret at
| their home tables, with champagne, etc. for
festive occasions. American mixed drinks are
not popular. and in fact are scarcely known
| below the Rio Grande, the scarcity of ice max
ing julep>. etc. out of the question in most
| parts of the country. In the city of Mexico
ice may be procured. but as it all comes from
the summit of PopocatipetI. brought down on
the backs of Indians to the nearest railway
| station. one does not grumhie at the price of
the congealcd moisture, (l5 cents per poun,D.
but wisely concludes to dispense with it.
Strangers in Mexico are at first greatly
troubled with thirst rapid evaporation rem
dcrs the mouth and throat extremely dry.
| Water affords no relief and is withall more
dangerous to indulge in than any ''tanglc-foot'
whose effects may be slept OFF. When We re-
fleet that this old. old cty--thc ancient Tenoch-
titan of the early Aztcc>-has been the site of
populous city for more than sir huudrrd
years. and during all that time-whe empires
have arisen and fallen. dynasties decaye,i, and
myriad> have lived, died and been buried here
| this cup-like Hollow high up in the hills has
never been drained. but on the contrary has
been druined into from all the surrounding
country. one has no disposition to taste the
| waters of so vast Il charnel-houSc.
TO be S;irc there is the living spring of
| Chapultcpec. still brought down to the Capital
by that old Spanish acquedurt. Give miles long
| and three hundred years Old, but unless YOU
live close by one of its few fountains and see
the sweet. pure water taken thcrefrom. you
| can never be sure of what you are drinking.
| The licensed carrier. who peddles water from
door to door-at the rate of jarrito full for IL
taco ia cent and Il half, is quite as likely to
have drawn it from some filthy we'll, filled
| with
| wAsIIINGs FROM TIE CAMPO SANTO.
Other portions of this volcanic country abound
| in such IA congomeration of minerals and chemi-
Gals a> to render the water extremely danger
Gus, and the traveller is warned that to drink
much of it may entail incurable ills.
But to return to our pulquc. 1t is AS anus
ing to note the efforts which ncwl ly-arrived
Americans made to say the word (Which
should be pronounced pool-kee) as their GRIM
aces in learning to like the liquid. They
generally begin bv calling it ..pulk.' or at best
toward dispo>ing of those eighty thousand
gallons per diem. In its best estate, the sour
smelling stuff looks like thick buttcr-milk, and
tastes somewhat nastier, if possible, than
about the year 800, by one, Papautzin, a Toltec
nobcman. Tradition says that this ancient
benefactor, having succeeded in diStilling Il
beverage which to him seemed fit for the gods.
| he called his only daughter. Aochltl. 1.-THE name
signifyin% "Fower of Tallen") and commits
stoned her as cup-bearcr to the king. The
dusky IIebe was Young and beautiful, and so
the Taltec monarch not only drank and praised
the pulque, but straghtway fell in love with
the maiden. He would not permit her to re-
turn to her people, but for many years the Old
rascal kept her a prisoner in his palace,
though wars and bloo,lshed and at last the
disruption of the empire grew out Of his in-
fatuaton. 1t seems to have hccn the same Old
story, even at that day, that "wine and wo-
men, are the moving causes of mischief!
Throughout the length and breadth of MeNi-
co Saturday is known as "Beggar's Day."
when, under special countcnancc of Church
and State, mendicants of all degrees and both
sexes levy demands upon people with the ut
most confidence. Out of their cOverts and lars
they swarm i'm incredible numbers--the blind,
the halt, the lame and the lazy, and before
sunrise on the morning aforesaid the streets
are literally filled with them. First they
make tour of the shops and markets, and the
obliSing merchants, in anticipation of their
coming, have laid by store Of small coin for
the occasion. To refuse to give would be
A BAD ADVERTISEMENT,
for among these professional mendicants are
many good customers for the rest of the week.
Then they HE themselves, with their rags and
crutches, to the sanctuarics and after mass is
over and the churches deserted, they patrol
every street. leaving not a house unvisted or Il
person unsolicited The Lroken bits of bread
and meat, stumps Of vegetables, (.'cold clothes
and old victuas'' according to Mrs. Parting